Kat Harlton
Photos: Kristina Ruddick
Actress Elana Dunkelman is currently recurring in the new police procedural drama series Alert: Missing Persons Unit following the Philadelphia Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit (MPU), now airing on FOX (USA) and CTV (Canada).
Co-created by Jamie Foxx, each episode features a desperate, life-or-death search for a missing person, by a team of experts that includes former married couple Jason Grant and Nikki Batista.
Elana portrays Rachel, a charming, witty, confident and full of life forensic medical examiner.
I had the opportunity to chat with Elana about her role and what’s next.
Kat: You’re currently recurring in the new police procedural drama series Alert: Missing Persons Unit, following the Philadelphia Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit (MPU), how did you prepare for the role? Did you find any similarities between yourself and your character Rachel?
Elana: Rachel is a medical examiner on Alert. To prepare I did some youtube research on what one’s day would look like as an ME. Rachel and I are fairly similar in our demeanour – she’s described as a “bottle of friggin sunshine”, which I gravitated to immediately. She’s spunky, kind and sarcastic but uses that to cover a sensitive interior. The one thing that sets us apart is that I would NEVER be an ME. Dead bodies are not my thing.
Kat: Was there anything about your role that was particularly challenging?
Elana: Yes! I had a couple of scenes where I had to walk and talk. It’s not as easy as it looks!
Kat: What were some of your favorite scenes to shoot and why?
Elana: I had most of my scenes with the wonderful Petey Gibson, who plays C Hemingway. We got along swimmingly and our scenes were a delight to shoot. I’m particularly excited about seeing our last scene together – no spoilers!
Kat: Is there a type of character that you’d like to portray, that you haven’t had the chance to yet?
Elana: Because of my baby face I’m usually cast in the best friend, quirky characters – which I totally love. But I would kill to play an unexpected twisted villain!
Kat: What can we expect from you for the rest of 2023?
Elana: I’m currently working with my writing partner on a Rom Com script. It’s been commissioned by a production company in Toronto and we’re hoping to have it done by this year. I’ll also be in the premiere episode of “Gen V”, the spin-off from Amazon’s The Boys.
Connect With Elana on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elanad